The Chair of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Funds for Victims of Trafficking and Executive Chairman of Roost Foundation, Dame Julie Okah- Donli, has called for a secure learning environment and domestication of all necessary laws that will grant peaceful living and learning environments for Children in the Country.
Dame Julie Okah-Donli, who is also the immediate past Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), expressed displeasure over the spate of child abductions and kidnapping in the school environment in some parts of the Country, describing it a major threat to the future of the nation.
She stated this in Abuja while celebrating with children at the Corporate Headquarters of Roost Foundation as part of the activities lined up to mark this year’s Children Day Celebration.
Roost Foundation is an internationally-acclaimed Non-Governmental Organization unveiled a few months ago and has been making tremendous impact in the areas of massive sensitization, awareness creation, advocacy as well as rescue and rehabilitation of vulnerable victims of human trafficking, rape and other forms of violence against persons across the Country.
Speaking with newsmen at the sidelines of the celebration, Dame Julie Okah-Donli said: “I have mixed feelings concerning this years celebration. In the first place, I celebrate with our Children on Children’s Day.
“They deserve to be celebrated, especially when viewed against the backdrop of series of life threatening situations in the last one year, one cannot but thank God and also celebrate our real heroes who are the Children.
“On the other hand, I feel pained in my heart that our Children have continued to learn under an unsafe environment with escalating hostilities. It is a known fact that the present security challenges across Nigeria have taken a pitiable toll on the education of our children.
“Many of them have been caught in the crossfire of unfortunate unrest, some have lost their parents while others have dropped out of school.
“The prevailing tension – soaked academy calendar in the Country is unhealthy and capable of truncating the desired future of our children.
“I therefore call for an improved peaceful learning environment for our children. The bandits must know that our innocent children are not the cause of their grievances, as such, they must be spared from killing and kidnapping.
“I also call for the unconditional release of those children still being held in captivity by their captors.
“Urgent steps must be taken to ensure nationwide domestication of the various laws that will guarantee peaceful learning and living environment for our children.”
“As a gift to our children, The Roost Foundation has launched the first animated movie series for children on gender-based violence, which can be downloaded from our website www.roostfoundation.org,”
Dame Okah-Donli stated.
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